Assistant district attorney charged with DUI in Elizabethton
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (WJHL) — An assistant district attorney was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after crashing his car at a girls’ academy in Elizabethton, according to police.
The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Assistant DA Austin Vanhoy has been suspended without pay pending a review of the incident.
Elizabethton police responded to a suspicious vehicle at the East Tennessee Christian Home and Academy, an organization for at-risk girls, around 8 p.m. Sunday. A caller told dispatch that a black SUV had been at the facility’s gym building for about 10 minutes and that the vehicle’s headlights were flashing.
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When police arrived, they found Vanhoy lying in the grass and his black Toyota 4-Runner located off a wooded embankment “due to an apparent crash” with the driver’s side door open, according to an Elizabethton Police Department report.
An officer asked Vanhoy if he needed medical attention, but Vanhoy refused and had no apparent injuries, according to the report.
“I observed Austin was having difficulty moving to a sitting position, he had dilated pupils, and glossy eyes,” Officer Matthew Goldberg noted in the report. “When speaking to Austin to determine if he needed medical attention, Austin had slurred speech, he struggled forming sentences, and spoke in one-word answers.”
The officer also said Vanhoy was unable to stand without assistance.
Officers smelled alcohol on Vanhoy’s breath and asked Vanhoy if he would be willing to perform a field sobriety test, but Vanhoy refused, the report states.
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According to one officer, Vanhoy said he did not know where he was and when asked how much he had drunk, Vanhoy replied “I don’t know.” He also reportedly could not tell the officer where he had come from or how he got there.
Officers arrested Vanhoy and charged him with driving under the influence. Vanhoy refused to consent to a blood draw and was additionally charged with violation of implied consent law, according to the report.
When officers searched Vanhoy’s SUV, they reported finding a loaded Glock 43 in a holster in the unlocked glovebox. That resulted in officers also charging him with possession of a handgun under the influence.
According to the report, police obtained a search warrant for a blood draw and transported Vanhoy from the jail to Sycamore Shoals Hospital for the blood draw before taking him back to jail.
District Attorney General Steve Finney is seeking the appointment of a pro tem district attorney “to avoid any potential conflicts of interest or appearance of impropriety.” The pro tem will be appointed by the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference.
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